Hands On With the Loc8tor Lite

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If you’re anything like me, you spend several desperate minutes a day looking for important things (phone, keys, pets, pants) when you really just want to get out the door before you miss the bus. You could just get in the habit of putting things in the same place every day, but where’s the fun in that? I like to conquer my personal failings whenever possible with beeping electronics, flashing LEDs, and cleverly misspelled product names. Thankfully, the Loc8tor Lite runs that geek gadget gamut, while managing to make finding things kind of fun.

The $79.99 Loc8tor Lite package comes with a slim credit-card-size remote and two homing tags, each about the size and shape of a squished olive. You place the tags on items that are frequently misplaced and use the remote to locate them. The device uses radio frequency for location, so the range is decent at up to 400 feet–though it’s considerably less when things like doors and walls are in the way. If you live in a palatial estate, you might want to spring for the slightly more expensive model, which has more features and a claimed 600-foot range. But for the average apartment dweller or small-home owner, the Loc8tor Lite should have all the key-finding power you’ll need.

Setup is fairly simple, though somewhat involved, as the tags first need to be paired with one of the four buttons on the face of the remote. To do this, you place one of the tags near the remote (while making sure any other tags are at least a few feet away), press a button on the side of the remote to turn it on, then hold down a button on the front of the remote for a few seconds to pair it with the tag.

After that’s done, locating lost items becomes something akin to beach-combing with a metal detector. Press the button that corresponds to your missing item, and a row of tri-color LEDs and intuitive beeps emanates from the remote, guiding you to your missing stuff. As you hold the remote and slowly spin around, the lights change color from red to yellow, then to green, and the beeps become more frequent when you’re pointed in the right direction. As you get closer to your lost loot, the remote’s LEDs change from red to yellow to green, and the beeps grow closer and closer together until they become one steady note. It’s like nothing so much as an electronic version of the traditional kids game, Hot and Cold. The tag also chirps and lights up, making finding things in the dark a lot easier.

You can adjust the volume of beeps with a button on the left side of the remote, even turning the sound off completely. The lights alone are enough to guide you, though honestly the sound is half the fun. But because the Loc8tor redundantly uses lights and sound, it can be used by the blind and the deaf, which is a definite plus.

In practice, the device worked well. I was able to find hidden items within a few minutes. Looking for items on a floor above or below you is more complicated, though it’s more of problem of user perception than with the device. You just have to get used to pointing the remote up or down as well as left and right, and you’ll find your missing stuff in no time.

As well as the Loc8tor Lite works, there’s definitely room for improvement. While the remote is wonderfully wafer-thin, the tags are a bit bulky at nearly a third of an inch thick, and a little over an inch long. That’s fine for dangling with your keys or rolling around in a purse, but wouldn’t exactly fit in a wallet or look good hanging from a cell phone. Still, if the testimonials on the Loc8tor web site are any indication, the tags work well for keeping tabs on wayward tabby cats. And automaker Chevy has licensed the Loc8tor’s tech, so you’ll apparently soon be able to get this tech as an installed option on some American cars.

At $79.99 for a remote and two tags, the Loc8tor Lite is far from cheap, and if you plan on tracking more than two frequently-misplaced items or pets, you’ll have to fork over another
$29.99 for two more tags. For that price, it would be nice if Loc8tor included a charger base and rechargeable batteries, but unfortunately the whole thing runs on disposable (and fairly expensive) button batteries. Still, whether it’s worth the price depends on how much time you might save, and what you plan on keeping track of. Spend a few minutes on the testimonials section of the Loc8tor site, and you might find even more uses for this clever gadget. Aside from cats, people apparently use their Loc8tor to find their car at the mall, locate model planes that have been blown downwind, and even to keep track of their children. Nothing says responsible parenting like pressing a button every now and then to make sure the kids are in range of your remote.